Chaplaincy Corner: Habemus Papam

On Wednesday 13th March 2013, white smoke appeared from the chimney over the Sistine chapel at 7:06pm, signalling that the new Pope had been elected in the fifth ballot of the two day Conclave.

The 266th Successor of Saint Peter is the Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the first Jesuit Pope in history, who took the name of Pope Francis.

Spokesman Federico Lombardi, himself a Jesuit, said he was stunned to have a member of the Society of Jesus as pontiff. “For us the idea of a Jesuit pope is very strange,” he said, explaining that historically the Jesuits had considered themselves “servants, not authorities, in Church”. In a statement, the Jesuit superior general, Adolfo Nicolás, said Bergoglio's election “opens for the Church a path full of hope … at this crucial time”.